AP

by Bradley Secker and Janelle Dumalaon
Special for USA TODAY, USA TODAY

by Bradley Secker and Janelle Dumalaon
Special for USA TODAY, USA TODAY

ANTAKYA, Turkey â?? The Turkish parliament's approval of military operations outside Turkey on Thursday has reignited calls from Syrian opposition activists for further international intervention a day after shelling from Syria killed five Turkish civilians.

"It's a good sign," said Hozan Ibrahim, a member of the Syrian National Council, based in Berlin. "Turkey has signaled both to the Syrian regime and the international community a willingness to intervene."

The Turkish parliament's authorization means that armed forces would be able to go into Syria without support from its allies, a decision Deputy Prime Minister Besir Atalay said had "deterrent qualities".

The vote came after two Turkish women and three of their daughters were killed when shells fired from Syria hit their home in the border village of Akcakale. Many Syrians have fled to this border area to escape the violence, and some are helping the rebellion against Syria dictator Bashar Assad.

The Turkish government said the Syrian regime had accepted responsibility for the shelling and had apologized for the deaths. Atalay said the vote is not approval for war but simply that Turkey's military will have the right to respond to future attacks.

Some activists said they hoped the decision could mean military intervention from the West.

"We are hoping that this announcement from Turkey will focus the minds of the international community and highlight the dangers of non-intervention," said Anas Al-Abdah, chairman of the Movement for Justice and Development, a Syrian political party based in London. "If the international community does not intervene, then the conflict spills out over borders and escalates."

Activists have been asking for military help from the West since shortly after the beginning of the conflict 19 months ago. About 30,000 people have been killed by Assad's military, according to opposition estimates.

Turkey's response is the first time that any government has endorsed military action against Assad. But some say the response is "just a reaction," not the start of outside assistance.

"Nothing will happen, just talking," said Abu Aboud, 35, a former officer in the Syrian Army who defected to the opposition forces two months ago.

"Turkey won't go to war with Syria," he said. "They [the Turkish military] won't take the risk â?? Syria has a strong military."

Turkey stated last year that it sides with the opposition to Assad and has given fighters of the Free Syrian Army safe haven along its border. It also hosts the opposition Syrian National Council in Istanbul.

Turkey is also a haven to an estimated 90,000 refugees from Syria. Though many here say Turkey would not involve itself directly in a fight with Syria, analysts warn of the dangers of escalation.

"Even though both camps do not want a war, there might be a war via miscalculation for all we know," said Fawaz Gerges, director of the Middle East Center at the London School of Economics.

"Another incident and you might have retaliation on a bigger scale from Turkey, which would in turn bring about a response from Syria, and there you have it," he said.

"If they end up intervening, we believe this could be very dangerous, a whole new front to the conflict," said Elias Perabo, spokesperson for Adopt a Revolution, an organization that helps the Syrian opposition.

"What we see that is likely to happen in the next months is Turkey intervening in the Kurdish areas in the north," he added. "The amendment they passed today is very similar to the one they did for Northern Iraq. They attack once in awhile, and this is sort of the same case for Syria."

NATO, of which Turkey is a member, condemned on Wednesday Syria's shelling and called on it to end "aggressive acts against an ally." No other action was taken. Many refugees do not expect NATO or Turkey to take the kind of necessary action to end the fighting by ousting Assad's regime.

"They won't go to Aleppo or Damascus, they just want to push the Syrian army away from Turkey," said Aboud. "It will be very good for the Syrian people as Turkey pushes Assad's fighters away from the border area."